Iran has warned Britain, France and Germany over their recent decision to trigger a dispute settlement mechanism featured in the 2015 nuclear deal, saying Tehran will consider taking another ‘effective step’ if its demands to the deal are not met.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi dismissed the claims by Britain, France, and Germany on Iran’s repeated violations of the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying “We are still staying in the deal.”
“We have rightfully balanced our commitments to the deal based on the other parties’ measures,” Mousavi said at a presser on Monday.
Mousavi said although Tehran has taken the fifth and the last step to reduce commitments to the nuclear pact, it is designing a new and “more effective” step that will be taken in case the Europeans do not fulfill their responsibilities to the deal and continue their claims.
Britain, France, and Germany, collectively known as the E3, have formally triggered a dispute settlement mechanism featured in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, a step that could lead to the restoration of UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
After the mechanism is implemented, Iran would be given 15 days to resolve the dispute with the threesome states.
The JCPOA lifted nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the UN and some other signatories of the deal, particularly the US.
The Islamic Republic, in return, voluntarily changed some aspects of its nuclear program. The agreement was later ratified in the form of Security Council 2231, which terminated previous UN resolutions against the Islamic Republic.
Bowing to Washington’s pressure, the three remaining European signatories failed to protect Tehran’s business interests under the deal after the US’s withdrawal and started to tow Washington’s sanction line.
Consequently, Iran began in May 2019 to gradually reduce its commitments under the JCPOA to both retaliate for Washington’s departure and prompt the European trio to respect their obligations towards Tehran.
Recently, Iran took a final step in reducing its commitments and said it would no longer observe any operational limitations on its nuclear industry.
Tehran has, however, reminded that all its retaliatory steps fitted within Paragraph 36 of the JCPOA and that its countermeasures are “reversible upon effective implementation of reciprocal obligations.”
The E3, however, refuted the argument that Iran is entitled to reduce compliance with the JCPOA.
Source: Sputnik
